An abyssal plain is an underwater plain on the deep ocean floor, usually found at depths between 3000 and 6000 m. Lying generally between the foot of a continental rise and a mid-ocean ridge, abyssal plains cover more than 50% of the Earth âs surface. They are among the flattest, smoothest and least explored regions on Earth.
Jim Beckwourth. On this day in 1844, Jim Beckwourth discovered a path through the Sierra Nevada Mountains that now bear his name. Beckwourth Pass on U.S. Alt 40 between Reno, Nevada and Sacramento, California made overland travel to the gold fields of California. Tweet.
He was wrong and, less than six years later, Mexico would cede California to the United States nine days after the largest gold strike in history. THE GOLD RUSH: James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill on the American River near Coloma, California, on January 24, 1848.He reported the find to his partner, John Sutter, on January 28, 1848. Even though Sutter and Marshall tried to keep the discovery a secret, word began to leak out within a few days.HE GOLD RUSH: James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill on the American River near Coloma, California, on January 24, 1848. He reported the find to his partner, John Sutter, on January 28, 1848.